Journal 9/25/1987
P3 Kwaj land case After 21 years, two complete trials, three appeals and a three-year interlude when the court clerks lost the file, the Trust Territory’s oldest law suit is finally at an end. Kwajalein landowner Handel Dribo, noted for having led several occupations of military land at the top secret Kwajalein Missile Range, has accepted a $59,000 payment from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and files on his case are being closed. When the condemnation case, for use of three small islands in the Kwajalein Mid-Atoll Corridor, was filed in 1966, the Trust Territory wanted to pay $20 per acre per year for a 50-year lease. At that time, Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States, Journal publisher Joe Murphy was a first-year Peace Corps volunteer on Ujelang, and George Allen, who eventually concluded the case as Mr. Dribo’s lawyer, was a law student in Colorado. After 10 continuances in 11 years, Judge Arvin Brown dismissed the case in 1977. It was refiled the next year and went to trial in 1979 before Judge Robert Hefner, who awarded $800 per acre per year for a lease ending in 1981. An appeal was delayed by the lost file, but ultimately resulted in a ruling Mr. Dribo and his fellow landowners should receive market interest rates rather than the Trust Territory Code rate of three percent. That ruling meant an additional $59,000. And where does this historic week find Mr. Dribo and his attorney, Mr. Allen? Right back in court on Majuro, this time in the Marshall Islands High Court, over a new condemnation of the same land. Now the government offer has gone up to $2,500 per acre per year and, as usual, Mr. Dribo and Mr. Allen are trying for more money.
P7 From the pan to the fire When former Marshalls Chief of Police Robert Canfield left Majuro, he commented that he appreciated being here but that he was somewhat off-center because he intended to be more of an advisor/trainer for the local department. He didn’t expect that he would become embroiled heavily in the day-to-day running of the department. So he left, and took a post in Kosrae. Now it looks like a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire, for the latest report from Kosrae is that Police Chief Canfield is immersed in an investigation into who attacked the former attorney general of Kosrae. The government lawyer was grabbed by several men, beaten and urinated on. The attack was apparently political motivated. We can imagine that Canfield looks back on his stay in the Marshalls with even more appreciation now.
Journal 9/25/1998
P1 Judges shut book on repeat suits A three-member panel of judges on the Marshall Islands Supreme Court upheld a High Court ruling that Chuji Chutaro holds a valid lease for land at Binbinkan weto in Uliga. The Supreme Court ruling issued late last month lays to rest a dispute on a prime piece of Majuro real estate that has been ongoing since the late 1980s. The High Court ruling and the Supreme Court’s confirmation make it clear that once a dispute has been resolved in the courts, relatives of those involved in the initial dispute may not resurrect it.
P5 Alex wins Angler Alex Bing pocketed more than $1,000 for catching the biggest marlin during last Saturday’s Marshalls Billfish Club’s biggest qualifying fish tournament.
P13 RMI, tobacco lawyers argue case Attorneys for the RMI and American tobacco industry argued their cases before High Court Chief Justice Dan Cadra Monday in Majuro. The hearing was on the tobacco companies’ motion to dismiss the RMI suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Journal 9/25/2009
P1 Power at risk Adding a new degree of uncertainty to an already challenged business environment in Majuro, MEC General Manager David Paul warned Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce meeting that power for the capital is in an unpredictable phase and electricity service could be interrupted if one of the two large engines break down. “I don’t want to panic anyone, but the assessment from our mechanical engineers is that the big engines in the new power plant could go tomorrow, next month or in six months,” Paul said. “We’re aggressively working to get parts in and the generators overhauled.”